Monoprice MBS-650 Speaker Review

With the rise of digital music players and smartphones, earbuds and Bluetooth devices have become a dominant force in the audio marketplace. But what about good, old-fashioned speakers that you can plug into your uncle's hand-me-down receiver from 1974? And how will you amplify that hip new turntable? As digital audio accessories and high-end audiophile equipment continue to gain buzz, it can be hard to find quality analog audio equipment that won't blow up your used vinyl budget. In this article, we will take a close look at one such pair of speakers—the Monoprice MBS-650.

We'll break down the features, price, and performance of the MBS-650 and compare them with a selection of other speakers in the same class. The speakers in this review are all considered bookshelf type speakers. We found a wide variety of performance features and aesthetics across the different prices but ultimately found that a little bit of money can go a long way when you're hunting for a set of low-end analog speakers in 2019.

What is the Monoprice MBS-650?

The Monoprice MBS-650 speakers are a traditional bookshelf style speaker system. Unlike higher-tech speakers that use wireless technology like Bluetooth, these speakers connect directly to an audio source like a receiver or amplifier using traditional audio cables. They sit on the lowest end of the price spectrum for this type of speaker, but provide excellent quality sound in a relatively small footprint.

Product Specs

While these speakers probably won't win any awards for their aesthetic, they pack a lot of audio power into a relatively small footprint. Sitting at 11.9 x 8.1 x 6.4 in / 302 x 206 x 163 mm and weighing in at just over seven pounds, the MBS-650 will neither dominate your bookshelf nor tear your anchors out of the wall. The speakers include a 6.5-inch poly cone woofer and 0.5-inch poly dome tweeter and cables snap into the rear panel with traditional red and black spring clips.

These speakers boast highly competitive audio quality compared with others in the ultra-budget category and even square up with some higher-priced competitors. They have a fairly balanced frequency response with a slight push between the 1kHz and 2kHz range. The MBS-650 also shows a subtle energy increase between 3.5 and 5kHz. From a listening standpoint, this amounts to a smoother treble response than Dayton Audio B652, which is the most immediate competitor to this speaker. With a bass port on the back panel, we found that these speakers sounded best when placed at least six inches from a wall when mounted on a shelf or media stand.

How it Compares

We picked a couple of similar products available on the market to see how they compare.

5 out of 5 Stars

5 out of 5 Stars

These are passive speakers and are ready for use with a powered audio source out of the box.

2 out of 5 Stars

The MBS-650's looks are their greatest weakness. Unlike many of their competitors, these speakers have little in the way of flair. They're housed in a brown casing with a plain black grille and embossed Monoprice logo. Removing the grille reveals a function-first woofer and tweeter.

The Klipsch R-15M represents the higher end of the speakers in this range. The "M" in the name stands for "monitor" and these speakers compete with monitor speakers used in professional applications by audio engineers and film editors. They boast premium features like a 90x90 Tractrix horn for improved high-end response, a spun copper speaker horn, LTS tweeter for decreased distortion and a rear-firing port to help balance low-end response. The copper speakers could add a nice visual flair to a living room bookshelf or media center and provide a much higher-end look than any other speakers in this review. Klipsch backs these and all their passive speakers with a five-year limited warranty.

The R-15M are the best sounding speakers in this bunch, with a balanced and transparent frequency response from 62Hz to 24kHz. These speakers have a slight increase in lower end frequencies but are generally crisp and clean throughout and could even stand in for pro studio monitors in a pinch. The Tractrix horn helps create a wide sweet spot likely to keep music and films sounding great in rooms of various shapes and sizes. The R-15 is a similarly sized offering in the lower tier of home speakers but is definitely a higher-end product for those with a higher budget.

Ease of Use

Assembly Time

Design Quality

Warranty

5 out of 5 Stars

Like the MBS-650, the R-15M also use a simple spring clip design with traditional audio cables.

5 out of 5 Stars

Install the optional grille, install the audio cables and turn up the music.

5 out of 5 Stars

These speakers boast the highest quality aesthetic design in our review. The spun copper speakers not only improve audio quality but also provide a high-end look.

5 out of 5 Stars

Klipsch covers all of their passive speakers with a five-year limited warranty against any manufacturing defects.

Polk Audio's T15 bookshelf speakers are a mid-level home audio speaker in the same class as the Monoprice MBS-650 and the Klipsch R-15M. The speakers use a 0.75-inch silk dome tweeter, 5.25-inch composite drive and front-firing bass ports to produce impressive sound quality. They are based on Polk's Monitor Series speakers and use the proprietary Dynamic Balance system housed in a sleek, wood-look MDF cabinet. They also serve as the middleweight of their class at 8.25lbs. Polk covers these speakers with a five-year warranty on both the speakers and the cabinet.

These speakers boast a slightly broader frequency range than the MBS-652, spanning from 60Hz-24kHz. For mid-priced speaker in this category, they produce good quality sound with bright high and open mids. Like the Monoprice speakers, we found that the T15's are best placed at a reasonable distance from a wall due to their rear-mounted bass port. These speakers will handle a maximum of 100 watts at 8 ohms.

5 out of 5 Stars

5 out of 5 Stars

Like the other products in this class, these passive speakers are ready for use out of the box.

5 out of 5 Stars

The Polk T15's have a minimal design that falls between the Monoprice MBS-650 and Klipsch R-15M. Their stylized MDF housing could serve as an understating feature while using the speaker grille, or jump out when the glossy speaker housing is revealed.

Dayton Audio's B652 speakers have become a cult favorite in the "garage speaker" class for their low cost and comparatively high audio quality. They are likely the inspiration for the Monoprice MBS-650 and boast a similarly spartan aesthetic design. Their speakers use a 6-1/2-Inch polypropylene cone woofer and a 5/8-Inch polycarbonate ferrofluid cooled dome tweeter. They are the smallest speakers of the group, measuring out at 6.4 x 7.1 x 11.8 in, but come in the heaviest at 11.3 pounds.

Compared with the Monoprice speakers, the Dayton Audio B652's have a wider range of frequency peaks and valleys when measured in decibels. This is most noticeable in the lower frequencies with the Dayton having a -3 dB point of 77 Hz while the Monoprice sits at 106 Hz. The Dayton speakers also dip less prominently around the 2kHz mark, falling only to about 0 dB where the Monoprice's fall to around -1 dB. Overall this creates a fuller bass response and better overall clarity than the Monoprice speakers but sacrifices quality in the upper frequencies. These speakers peak out at around 20,000 kHz and manage 40 watts RMS/75 watts max at 6 ohms.

Ease of Use

Assembly Time

Design Quality

Warranty

5 out of 5 Stars

Dayton's B652 also use a simple spring clip design for rear cable mounting.

5 out of 5 Stars

They also have minimal assemble and setup time.

3 out of 5 Stars

What these speakers gain in low price they sacrifice in looks. Like the MBS-652, these speakers have a somewhat outdated look that may fit best in a less exposed part of the house.

4 out of 5 Stars

Dayton covers these speakers with a 5-year limited warranty.

Pros

High-quality audio for low price

Short stature will take up less space

Growing reputation amongst audiophiles as a top choice for low-end speakers

Cons

Heaviest weight in class

Plain styling

High end frequencies can become shrill at high volume

Conclusion

Monoprice has built a reputation for selling good quality audio and visual cable at very low prices. In recent years they've proven that this model can work for other branded products like electronics, accessories and even musical instruments. The Monoprice MBS-650 speakers are a perfect fit for the company and provide exactly what they've become known for—no frills, solid quality and super low cost.

In a one-on-one shootout with the Dayton Audio B652, we found that these speakers handle high frequencies better but sacrifice some low and overall clarity. For us, however, that's an acceptable tradeoff as harsh and brittle highs are often the Achilles heel of low-end speakers. The main sticking point we found with these speakers is their aesthetic. While bookshelf speakers are ultimately a functional item, they can sit for years in a living space so it's best if they suit your style. If your style is "super plain" then these might just be your aesthetic dream.

Despite their visual shortcomings, the MBS-650 sounds excellent for the low cost. Given their good quality and low price we rate these speakers a four out of possible five. With very similar looks, comparable cost and slightly improved performance, we feel that they have a slight edge over their most direct competitors. These speakers won't offer either the visual flair or the higher-end audio features of a speaker like the Klipsch R-15M, but for about a quarter of the price, they compete shockingly well. The MBS-650 could be the perfect choice to crank some tunes in the basement gym or over the garage work bench.

REVIEW OVERVIEW

Ease of Use

Design Quality

Assembly Time

Warranty

SUMMARY

Monoprice MBS-650 is a good starter for those who want a speaker for the first time. It is very affordable and it has a competitive sound quality with more expensive speakers. However, this product has a lower quality speaker components than other competitors.